KLIM Half Marathon 2008

Made it in 2:46 on the dot.
Slower than my PJ Half time last year by about 8 minutes, but OK lah considering I've been kinda slack with training and didn't run at all since last weekend.

The route today felt alot longer than it really was, especially the first 10-12km. The incline at Taman Seputeh and the long stretch at Seremban highway next to the Sg Besi airport made me feel like the run would go on forever. I was quite tempted to call it quits and hop into the 'quitter bus'. That didn't happen not because I had strong resolve or anything, but I didn't see the bus at all. When I reached the 10km point, my watch said I took an hour and a half. Boy, that was s-l-o-w.



Things got alot better when I reached Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka. Ran through Imbi, Bukit Bintang, Raja Chulan, Sultan Ismail before turning into Jalan Raja Laut and into Jalan TAR towards the finish line.

All in all, I enjoyed the run, and no major aches and pains except for sore feet. Not today anyway. I'm glad I brought my iPod along this time. It added to the weight but I doubt I would have survived the first 10km without it.

Hung around to have my favourite post-race cold Milo, saw the cycling gang who did the 10km today, as well as JO who ran her first race today. MK did well at the 21km too. MS looked so darn cute with her angel wings. And that girl on the right was stalking her for photos. Hahaha.

Race Calendar for 2008

Now that the first race is done and over with, here are the other races I hope to do this year. Some dates are not confirmed as of right now, so I've put in tentative dates based on last year's calendar. I doubt I'll go for every race, but will definitely go for as many as time, leave days and finances permit.

January

RUN: Great Eastern 30km Run
20 January - Lake Gardens, KL

March

RUN: KLIM Half Marathon (21km)
30th March - Dataran Merdeka, KL
My 2nd half marathon. Hope to finish under 2:30 (previous time 2:38)

May

TRI: Bukit Merah International Triathlon
3th - 4th May (tentative) - Bukit Merah Laketown Resort, Perak
It was on last year, but I don't know if it will be this year. If it's on, I'll be going right after MF & CS's wedding reception in Ipoh. Popping my triathlon cherry! Woohoo!

TRI: A'Famosa Triathlon (Olympic Distance)
10th - 11th May- A'Famosa Resort, Alor Gajah, Melaka

RUN: New Balance Pacesetters 15km Run
18th May - Padang Merbok, KL
Last year's time was was in the 1:50s. Hope to do under 1:40 this time.

TRI: Kenyir Lake International Triathlon (Sprint/Olympic Distance)
25th May - Kenyir, Terengganu
Was told this is the nicest and the 'must do' triathlon of the year.

June

TRI: Sarawak International Triathlon (Sprint/Olympic Distance)
21st June (tentative) - Miri, Sarawak
This depends on how expensive/difficult it would be for me to send my bike over for the race. Right now it sounds mighty troublesome.

RUN: Penang Bridge Marathon (21km)
22nd June (tentative) - Penang
Looking at how badly organised it was last year, I seriously doubt I want to go again. But oh the food...

July

RUN: Siemens 10km
6th July (tentative) - Dataran Merdeka, KL

TRI: Port Dickson Triathlon (Sprint/Olympic Distance)
20th July - Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan
I remember a family friend's son used to go for this one. He was in college back then, and I was an asthmatic 8 year old. I used to look at his pictures and medals in awe and thought having numbers painted on his body was really cool. No, I was too young to really check out other details about his body. Tsk.

August

RUN: Adidas King of the Road 10km / 21km
3 August (tentative) - Sunway NPE, Selangor

RUN: PJ Half Marathon 21km
10 August (tentative) - Kelana Jaya Stadium, PJ, Selangor
Finished 2:38 last year. Hope to do 2:20 or less. Hee.

RUN: Subang Jaya 10km
24 August (tentative) - MPSJ Stadium, Selangor

BIKE: PCC Interstate 2008
Long-distance Cycling Road Tour
29th - 31st August (tentative) - Around Malaysia
LY and I hope to do this. She plans to clean up her old bike and start cycling again. YAY!

Oct

TRI: Desaru Pengerang International Long Distance Triathlon
18th October - Desaru, Johor
Doubt I will have time to train for long distance or have enough leave days to make so many trips, but I'm putting this in the list anyway, just for fun. Even if I do go, I'd most likely be doing the Sprint Distance.


Nov

DUATH: Powerman Duathlon
9th Nov (tentative) - Lumut, Perak
No swim? YAYYYYY!!


Longer term goals

- Run a full marathon in 2009 if I can get past the mental barrier of doing so. The recent 30km was painful enough. Can't imagine running another 12km. Yet. Aiiieeeeee!!!
- If I do manage to run a full marathon in 2009, I'll probably reward myself with a better bike and try for Ironman 2010.
- Now let's see if I break something get tired of all this before the year is out :)

30km in 4 hours 3 minutes

Great Eastern Pacesetters 30km 2008

My legs hurt.
My joints hurt.
I'm hungry. Sleepy.
I've got friction burns under my right upper arm and on my left thigh.

But what a run!
It started out in a daze, waking up just before 5am after sleeping at 1am. Bad idea, but I had a gig last night. Good thing I prepacked everything the night before. Hopped into the car and drove to the Lake Gardens, still in a blur. Frantically looked for parking, found one and walked 500m to Tapak A while guzzling a bottle of Gatorade. Said hello to MS and gang. Bumped into some friends. It's funny how this part of the morning is a hazy memory right now. You know, the feeling you get when you wake up suddenly from a vivid dream and wonder if it was actually a dream?

Well, the gun went off at 6am sharp and the wall of bodies in front started moving, not unlike schools of fish. Chit-chatted with MS as we ran, enjoying the cool morning air and laughed at the antics of some jokers running in front of us. So off we went down Jalan Parlimen, then towards the Bkt Tunku area, the gruelling double hill route and then back to Jalan Parlimen. The first 10km felt pretty good. Whacked a Green Apple Powergel (sure tasted better than Tangerine) and we were back on Jalan Parlimen again.

The second 10km was rather painful - up the Bkt Tunku area again (surreal feeling doing the same route in darkness and then in daylight over a span of an hour plus), this time crossing Jalan Duta to Hartamas, up the gruelling hills towards Plaza Damas (oh, Fogel's Meat Market, how your bacon called out to me). Waved at AH on the other side of the road. I trailed two really old uncles (my race bunnies over the past 5km) but boy, they were hard to keep up with. Then I saw and waved to Aunty T on the other side (she's in her late 60s!). Waved to AS (also on the other side of the road). Ran down to the Petronas Station near Bulldog, made a loop round the playground and then back. Saw JJ and paced with her for awhile. Took the Powergel the organisers provided (Toffee or Coffee, not bad) and we caught up with IS and ED.

As we made our way back, I caught up with the uncles and we chit-chatted abit. They were in their 60s and 70s and they'd been running for decades. OMG. Before long, the uphill made me slowdown to a walk again as they powered on. The Powergel started to work its mojo, and I picked up speed again on the downhill. 8 more km to go. The uncles were way ahead now, little men in the horizon. Tried to catch up but I was no where near their league. The sun was high in the sky and it was getting hot. Left right left right left right. "There's no such thing as pain. There's no such thing as pain." Breathe. Huff huff puff puff.

Last 2 km, my legs were at the verge of cramping.
C'mon... 10 minutes to qualifying time. "I won't make it" I thought, and the quitter in me slowed down to a walk again.

Then I saw some people who had completed the race (more uncles and aunties) walking along the path on the way to their cars, smiling and cheering me on. "Young lady, 1 more km, come on, little bit more, go go go". Shy man...

So I pumped in whatever I had left.
400m. 200m. Finally. The finish line. YAY!
Three minutes past qualifying time.
No.109 in my category, sure or nottt...
Eh? Still got medal ah! Double YAY!.
Felt woozy. Walked around aimlessly.
Had some drinks. Owww, my legs...

Walked gingerly back to the car. Grabbed some money and forms for KLIM registration (21k run). Walked back to register and then back to the car (that's like 1.5km worth of a 'cool down' walk, but cool's not the word with that heat, man). Stretched. Had a bottle of Gatorade. Gawd, I reeked of sweat. Eww.

Finally left the Lake Gardens. My face and fingers were on pins and needles. Felt much better after a quick brunch with LY (bacon at J&R, and oh, brown toast, eggs, sausage, grilled tomato - abit lavish, but what the heck, it's a rare indulgence). Drove home, played with Sunshine, bathed her, bathed myself and then KO to a short, restless nap.

I'm sooo gonna suffer tomorrow.
I don't know if I will do this again, let alone entertain the thought of running a full marathon. I'll stick to the halfs for now.

Gosh. I feel tired again.
ZZzzzzz....

Brick it! You gotta brick it!

I've read lots about it, and it always sounded scary. Running with stiff or jelly legs after a bike ride (two disciplines back to back, a must in triathlon training). We use different sets of muscles for the bike and run, but lactic acid build up and fatigue can make the run hell. That's why it's called a brick - your legs would probably feel like they're carrying a ton of them.

Now that I've tried it, hey, it wasn't all that bad after all.
I was actually hoping to do a long ride yesterday, but everyone going on long rides were super fast riders training for Ironman next month. I'm a slow newbie so I'd either be a real nuisance or be left far behind. So after looking around for rides to join in, I found out MS was doing a brick in Putrajaya with some friends. 50km bike + 20km run. Gulp, but what the heck.

Woke up at 4.45am so I wouldn't be late. Showered. Ate breakfast. And got to the Putrajaya Mosque by 6.00am, a tad too early (drove too fast on a deserted highway). There were already cars parked outside - Sahur time, and people were walking in for prayers. I didn't want to be pelted by stones seen outside a mosque wearing my not-very-inconspicuous red cycling tights, so I stayed in the car, and waited for the rest to arrive.

It was a pleasant morning ride, starting out from the Putrajaya Mosque at about 6.30-6.45am, out to Cyberjaya and then back, followed by a run from the mosque to the Putrajaya Convention Centre. I took slightly over 2 hours to complete the 50km ride (the other guys were way ahead, but MS and IZ were kind enough to wait up for me, TQ), and about an hour twenty for an easy-pace 10km run. Most of us ended up running just 10km. The sun was merciless.

Then I went home to shower and met them at Edwin's bike shop (Joo Ngan Son in DU). I fixed in a bike computer (RM150) at last! YAY! A Cat's Eye with 8 functions including cadence! Now I can keep track of my RPM and how many kms I've gone.

Other recent purchases (gulp):
- I got this red pair of Optic Nerve Rodango with 4 sets of lenses (RM250) online! Whooopeee dooo! I really wanted the Oakley Half Jacket Sunglasses but it would cost more than double, without extra lenses. Sigh. Once again, my head ruled the heart :( *uhuk*

Sigh. Isn't the one on the right wayyyy prettier? Match my bike summore.

- Cat's Eye front and tail lights for night riding! :D
Yet to go for a night ride though.


- Bought an entire box of 24 x 500ml Gatorade (Lemon Lime) from Giant a few days ago. RM1.99 each. Good stuff. Hahaha. After 3 days and I'm already down to 20 bottles.

I've gotten pretty much everything I need. Except maybe a hand pump in case my tyres pancit half way while riding. Hmmm. Next month lah.

Exhausted and loving it

Saturday
Swim class at 8am in the Sunway Monash Condo. Wah! Olympic size pool wor, don't play play. There weren't enough people in the 8am beginner's class today, so the coach asked me to swim laps with the competitive swimming kids first while waiting for the next class at 9am. So I did, and swam a slow freestyle, putting into practice tips I read from swimming websites - thumb to thigh to ensure a complete pull, and rotate hips with each stroke.


I could keep to this form if I was swimming slow. But the moment I tried to go fast, I was splashing about like a drowning dugong. When the coach got all the kids to do a 50m sprint, I was put into a group with an 8-year old and a 7-year old. They could swim faster than me. 'Nuff said. When my class started after that, we did some kicking and a few laps of butterfly with our arms behind our backs. Felt good.

Then it was home for a quick shower to wash off the chlorine, before I met up with LY at the gym. Ran for half an hour with medium and high intensity intervals (wanted to do an hour but was feeling really buggered) . Rushed home, showered, changed, loaded the keyboard and band stuff into the car, and off to a gig in Shah Alam.

It was a good gig. I wanted to refrain from alcohol that night and declined so many cold beers (very good girl, okay) before succumbing to a glass of wine at the end of it. Haiyaaa... sure suffer the next day. Got home about 1am, unloaded my music gear from the car, packed in my bike and stuff I'd need for the ride, and went to bed. Phew.

Sunday
Woke up and raring to go after about 4-5 hours sleep, only to find out my sunnies were missing. I couldn't recall wearing them since my last ride 3 weeks ago and I was very sure I brought them home. Spent a good 20 minutes searching high and low for them, and then decided to eff it. Left the house for Ulu Langat, running late. Found RK and his friend KT, begged for forgiveness and off we went.

First red traffic light, I unclipped my left shoe with the intention of stopping and landing on my left foot. But I was off balance and toppled over to my right. Ooops. Good thing nothing broken or sprained. Just a couple of scratches on my BRAND NEW CLIP SHOES. Sigh. Thank God cars already stopped at that point. Hehe. The shoes and pedals made a lot of difference though. I could spin more instead of just hammering down on the pedals, and every time I lifted my legs, I'd be pulling the pedals too.

Today we did the K. Kelawar route, instead of the one that went round the dam. It was a very steep uphill climb all the way (super killer), but very scenic as well. I was very sure I saw a crab by the side of the road. Well, I was getting quite hungry that time, hehe.

Many times I was tempted to get off the bike and push, but persevered, wondering why I put myself through this. But finally, I got to the top where I stopped to drink, eat my Powergel (Green Apple was very nice, not like the Tangerine shit), and we turned back the same way we came, flying downhill all the way. So wonderful. If only I had my sunnies to block the glaring sun, wind and particles in the air. Wonder where I left it. Arrrrggggghhh!!

Now I'm home, and wondering if I should go for a run tomorrow morning. Yawn. Oh so sleepy. Maybe...

Terry Fox Run 2007

It's on this Sunday, 4th November.
Run starts at 9am, but get there earlier to park and get your T-shirt for RM25, which goes into cancer research. It's a very nice T-shirt this year too :)

Don't worry, it's a leisurely 6.5km run, with a 3.2km option for families and kids. You can rollerblade, skateboard, wheelchair, or supermarket trolley yourself.

Read about the inspiring Terry Fox here.


You rock.

Subang Jaya 10k Run 2007

I was really tired after my drive up and down Ipoh. And when I went to bed, I started sniffling. I also felt a sore throat and a headache. Great, how to run like that? So when I woke up at 6am this morning, it was just as well that it was raining quite heavily. Curled back under by blanket thinking I'd give this run a miss. But I had trouble going back to sleep and when the rain stopped at 6.30am, what the heck, I got up.

Instead of my usual 'fuel up' breakfast 2 hours before a run, I only had time for a Milo and half a granola bar. I gave my usual bottle of Gatorade a miss. Got there at 7am, just in time to report in and warm up my still-asleep body. My gut told me it's gonna be a painful day. What with the flu, less 'fuel' than I'm used to and fatigue from travelling. So much for my sub-1 hour goal.

The gun went off at 7.30am sharp and I tried to keep up with the front pack. Ambitious ma. Very quickly, I felt my body rebelling. My mind and my legs were willing, but I could feel my heart rate hitting the roof. I slowed down and walked a few metres, and felt a stitch coming. Oh boy. By the 3rd km, I was ready to call it quits and walk back to my car.

But I pressed on, forcing myself to run at a slower pace. There were no water stations, so it was a good thing I brought my water bottle. It was empty very fast though. My nose was running harder than I was, so I must have gotten quite dehydrated. I felt so bloody thirsty.

LS and KC caught up with me. Paced with them for awhile and when I regained momentum, I left them and put on some speed. The last 2kms were gruelling. I felt tired and weak, but I kept some 'race bunnies' in sight and tried to overtake them.

By the time I hit the MPSJ track for the final lap, I gave it all I got. And surprise, surprise! I made in under one hours after all! Ngam ngam hoe!

59:38 at 54th place.

Cut about 5 minutes from my previous time (despite the problems I had today). But I think it had a lot to do with the route. It was relatively flat and straight throughout. The few inclines we encountered were gentle and kind. The cool weather helped too.

For the first time after a race, I felt totally drained. Like there's nothing left in me. While lining up for the 100plus I felt almost faint. Didn't even have energy to stretch. So I just sat on the track for awhile before I left for home.

Moral of the story.
-Fuel up sufficiently.
-Don't be too ambitious in the early part of the race.
-Don't succumb to the voice that says 'give up'
-BYO water/sports drink... not all 10k runs have water stations :P

Now I need to sleep.

Virgin runners

LY and MK's first 10km race and now they're hooked. Hahahaha! :)

Photos taken by Pacesetters photographers. See more at the Pacesetters website.
I'm in there somewhere. Hehe.

PJ Half Marathon 2007

I did it!
And I did it in 2:38, under my target time of 2:45.
Feeling good as I'm typing this while icing my ankles and feet in a pail of water and ice cubes. Haha!

I woke up at 4.15am, had a pre-race breakfast of soft boiled eggs, a granola bar and Milo. Packed my 3-bottle Nike Hydration Pack - filled two of the small bottles with Gatorade, and one with plain water (to be taken with my Powergel). Took a warm shower to wake my body up and finally left my house at about 5am. Found YL at the stadium and we sat at the curb, observing other people doing their 'warm up' laps around the stadium. Round after round after round. Gosh. Nuts.

Guzzled my bottle of Gatorade slowly until flag off time at 6.30am. I was quite happy to start at the back of the pack, and went slow and steady. I didn't stop to walk except for that one crazy steep slope from Federal Highway to the Old Airport Road.

By around the 10th km near Hyatt Saujana, I ate my Powergel. Tangerine flavour (2x Caffeine!). It is said to be the nicest flavour of the lot, but... bleaarggh. A weird, sweet and salty paste with an artificial fruity flavour. I imagine it'd be more palatable if it was peanut butter flavoured. But that's just me. And oh, the texture. It's almost like cow gum. Not that I've tasted cow gum. But you know what I mean!

I must say the run was quite well-organised, with drink stations every 4km, and sponging stations in between. But I'm so glad I bought my hydration pack. The little sips of Gatorade in between stations really helped. And of course, I had to wash down the pasty bleaarggh-tasting Powergel with some water.

I was still feeling good when we made the U-turn at Terminal 2 Airport (13th km). It was only from the 17th - 18th km onwards that I felt my knees and ankles go wobbly. It felt so good to finally reach the stadium again and make the final lap around the track. I didn't qualify for a certificate (only for those who complete under 2:15), but I'm happy. I finished faster than my target time with an average speed of 7.5 mins per km. Not bad for a virgin half marathon lah!

YL did pretty good too in her 10km category. But we'll wait for her to tell her story :)

Now to rest my weary legs and catch up on some sleep.

*All photos taken by JL of Pacesetters

Heart rate rising...

It's just a day and a half away to my first half marathon. I feel bloody excited and anxious at the same time. Hope I can finish within 3 hours, though I wonder if hoping for 2:45 would be asking for too much. Heh.

It's taper week this week, so I've been taking it easy.
No long runs, except on Tuesday when I pushed myself to do an interval 9km to make up for the long run I missed the week before (no thanks to the flu). Feels strange to run for less than half an hour now. Such a far cry from 3 months ago when I would've called it a day after 4km.

Told myself to get used to sleeping early this week.
But it's been futile. I can't seem to fall asleep until it's way past midnight. I need to get used to this cos I must wake up at 4am on race day, have a light brekky, then be at the venue by 5am! Race starts at 6am I think. How to get used to sleeping early like that!

Collected the PJ Half Marathon goodie bag yesterday. Pretty decent, considering the really cheap entry fee of RM10. A pack of pasta. A bottle of multi-purpose cleanser (HUH?). Vouchers to a free meal at KFC and a free can of Malta. Some chocolate bars. And a contact lens voucher as well. The t-shirt's not too hot though. Not like the cool yellow Adidas Climacool vest that was given out for the Adidas King of the Road run last week. Oh, and my bib number is C0022. How cool is that! Now go buy number!

Consciously eating more carbo this week. Though I think I overdid it today. I had a roti tampal (roti canai with a fried egg pasted on it) for breakfast. Then while at work at the post-production house, I kept stuffing my face with their cheese toasties (they were so good, and the clients were stressing me out!). Then there was satay for dinner. With those yummy rice cubes (nasi impit). Now I feel too bloated to sleep. Ugh. And it's past midnight! And there's SW's birthday dinner tomorrow night.

Must sleep. Must cover my last easy run (3.5km) when I get up. Must sleep. Must sleep. Must sl...

A very full weekend

Running and fishing

After running my kms on Saturday, I went to Sunway Pyramid with D to collect my running vest for today's Adidas King of the Road run. They ran out of ladies vests so I had to make do with the men's. It wasn't too bad. Just that the armholes were too big. Good for airing armpits I say. Haha. Then we went for the Hartz Chicken Buffet downstairs. The food wasn't very good. But there was plenty of not-good food. And since we paid for it, might as well eat our money's worth right? Heh.

Next, a trip to the pet shop. Bought Sunshine her dog food and some treats, a home for my mom's growing tortoise, and helped D choose some fish for his grandma. We bought around 3 dozen littles fishies - colourful guppies, some tetras, platys, swordtails and some other fish names I can't remember. It was almost like ordering sushi. Two of this. Four of that. Ladidadida.

Putting the tank together was no easy task. First, we washed the tank. Washed the gravel. Put the filter together. Dechlorinated the water. Put in the plants (2 fake + 1 real), the driftwood and ceramic 'wooden house' (which was actually in a display tank and we pleaded with the shop owner to sell it to us). Finally, the fish.




The tank's really pretty now if I do say so myself.


Adidas King of the Road

MK and LY came over at 6am and we walked to Sunway Pyramid as 'warm up'. YL got the flu and couldn't join us today. Hope you're feeling better, beb.

The race started at 7am and the NPE was quite a decent running route. Apart from the smelly rubber factory half way and the rising sun that chose to shine enthusiastically today, it was a pleasant run. Sufficient water stations. Decent crowd control. And of course, the very nice running vest (worth RM59.90 it seems), a dining voucher for Holiday Villa and shopping vouchers. Not bad worrrr.

I realised all the kms I'd put in over the past few weeks made my run alot easier this time. The uphills still intimidated me, but they weren't as steep as the ones in Bukit Tunku. I felt stronger this time. Except for the little cough and sniffle that's been bugging me for awhile now.

I finished 60th in my category with a personal best of around 1:04.
YAY! Got medal, no cert. Hahaha. Next, the PJ Half. Gulp.


PC Fair.

After showering, LY and I sped off to the PC Fair at KLCC. Had brunch and battled the crowd in search of an MP3 player (for her), a webcam (for dad) and a speaker for iPod / laptop (for me).

I bought this for RM299.

Edifier iF330


And this for RM89.

Logitech Quickcam IM


*prances around happily*

Now it's off to watch The Simpsons on DVD and play Magic Cards.
Whooopee. I'm gonna be soooo exhausted by end of today.

Post Edit: I got whooped at the Magic Cards. I still haven't quite grasped the strategic skills needed to play Magic. But it's okay, I'm learning. It's fun. And I'm so in love with this...

It's actual size is alot smaller, of course.

Thanks SM, for the pizza, Baileys and this...



I still don't get it though.
How can anybody NOT like dark chocolate?

Very shy

The Pacesetters New Balance 15km Run official results are finally out!

Initially, I thought my time was around 1:55, but it seems I did a wee bit better than I thought at 1:51.

MT's 66 year-old mom-in-law, Aunty T, ran in the veteran category and completed in 1:40. And that's when she was having a slight flu.

Oh my.

And here's a picture I found on the Pacesetter website, courtesy of their photographer in the latest race (Siemens 10k Run).

Can you spot me in the kandang lembu*?



There...


Hahaha.


* cow pen

Training for the PJ Half Marathon

Yes! I've decided to do it.

Adapted an 8-week plan into a 6-week plan, and half way into Week 2, so far so good. I'm feeling great, and apart from the occasional laziness while lugging my ass to the gym, I've been running according to plan.

An average 8km run takes me about an hour (plus minus), and that's about the distance I used to run in a week before I made up my mind to do this. Getting through even half an hour used to be such a chore. But now with this goal in my head, it's getting surprisingly a little easier each time. Once I push myself past the first few sluggish minutes, I can complete the mileage with energy to spare.


AI (Aerobic Intensity) - Push the pace to increase heart rate
GP (Gentle Pick-Up) - Slow down to walk 20m, then pick up pace again

From what I read online, clocking the mileage, not speed, is what matters to build the stamina. I just need to push myself a little more along the way, increasing resistance and distance until the final week, when I'm supposed to slow down and let my body recuperate in time for 21km on race day. Gulp. I just hope to finish under 3 hours. If MT's 66 year-old mom-in-law can do it in slightly over 2, I should be very ashamed if I can't do it in 3.

You see it as torture?
I see it as a "now you can eat all you want" pass. Hahahaha! Hope I don't break anything, pull a muscle or sprain something over the next few weeks. Wish me luck!

Siemens 10km Run 2007

Apparently, it's pronounced zee-mens and not see-mens.
Zo yez, it waz a gutt ruhn thiz morning.

My bad memory gave me a panic attack last night cos I couldn't find my race reporting card. Told myself to go to sleep and search for it in the morning. Woke up 15 minutes before the alarm went off at 4.45am, after dreaming that they didn't let me run without the card. Obviously I couldn't go back to sleep, so I washed up and went out to my car. Only to find it slipped between the pages of a small notepad in my glove compartment *rolls eyes*

Got there early, walked around the field in Dataran Merdeka to wake my stiff body up. We were supposed to start off at 7.30am, but the dignitaries *rolls eyes again* were late. We were only flagged off at 7.45am after a long winded speech ending with a few shouts of Merdeka. What the...?

The first 2kms were tough. My body was still asleep. And because I'd been running quite abit the past week (including yesterday), I could still feel the lactic acid build up in my legs. After awhile, I managed to maintain a decent pace, only stopping to walk when it's a steep hill to conserve energy.

I must say it was a very well-organised race. But four (or was it five?) water stations abit over the top lah. In the first two, they were giving away whole bottles. Most of them went to waste cos most runners drank a few gulps and tossed the heavy bottles away. I was sipping my yummy Gatorade, only turning to the water stations towards the second half of the race.

Finished in around 1:10 at 58th place in my category. Yay! Got medal! Not too bad, though I was hoping to finish under 1:10 today. Nemmain lah. Will push myself abit more at the Adidas King of The Road in August.

There were Milo, Powerbar, VitaMilk and 100Plus tents at the field (wah). They even had 'recovery tents' with cool mist, tubs to soak your feet in and massage (wahhhh)! I went for the ice cold yummy Milo. Yummm. I could feel my zapped body absorbing whatever energy or nutrients it could give. Then I bumped into old school friends SW (who's working with Siemens) and PY. Haven't seen them in almost a decade! Caught up for a short while and I went off to have breakfast with LY, after which I went home take Sunshine for a long walk. All this before noon. What a fufilling morning.

My left foot is feeling achey again.
Oh... what I'd do for a massage right now.

Penang Bridge Run 2007

I was writing on and on about the food I had in Penang last weekend when I realised this was supposed to be a running post. So the foodie stuff, pictures and all will come later in another one. Hehe.

Anyway, the Penang Bridge Run was the most badly organised run I'd ever been to. Imagine lots of people lining up at Queensbay Mall, waiting for their t-shirts and running bibs only to be told they ran out of them. The organisers (Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia and MPPP) told everyone to return at 6pm for a new batch of T-shirts to arrive.



At 6pm, the t-shirts were still 'on their way'. Tempers were brewing as it was a hot day and some people had been waiting all afternoon. An angry runner got upset cos he had a movie to catch at 6.30pm. He almost got into a fight with a rude administrator at the counter, with threats flying. Wah, drama.

After awhile, I couldn't wait anymore, so I just collected my registration card and left. Good thing Fun Runners don't need bib numbers, or it'd be a longer wait. The t-shirt wasn't very nice anyway. Cheap, thin cotton, with an ugly design and a million sponsor logos on it. Bleh.

Geekchic took us for a nice dinner (I could go on about the food again but I'm restraining myself here) and then we went home for an early night. They all had Smirnoff and Sprite without me. Sniff sniff. Some more taunt me with "Aiyah, no need run la... wake up then have leisurely breakfast laaa..." :-P

When I woke up at 4am, the thought of a leisurely breakfast at a less ungodly hour was tempting. But I forced myself to wash up, ate an apple, drank some Gatorade, and drove out to RECSAM, the starting point and stipulated parking area. Parking area my arse. The roads were all blocked, so I had to drive around to see if I could find another way in. Didn't help that I got thoroughly lost. I was going to be late for registration, so I gave up and parked by the roadside about 5km away from the starting point. Half walked and half ran to the place, and arrived just in time to watch the Penang Minister flag off the 10k runners (high school kids and Fun Runners).

Great! I was late... but I wasn't the only one. So I ran in to hand in my registration card to get my identification wrist band, only to be told that they RAN OUT of them. There were over a hundred of us crowding around the organisers asking for the bands cos we weren't supposed to run on the bridge without one, according to the rules. We were finally told that we could. What a circus!

I hit the road at an easy pace, but the school kids flagged off earlier got in my way... they were walking, some hand in hand, forming human chains or walls here and there. Sure, it's a Fun Run. But it said Fun RUN, not Fun WALK. So I had to weave my way around them, which slowed me down. And it was so tiring to run, stop, excuse me, run, stop, excuse me, run, stop sorry, excuse me, run, stop for at least the first half of the run. Aaaaarrgh.

I really enjoyed running on the bridge though. It was quite nice to know that a few hours later, only cars would be allowed to pass. The sky was a dark shade of midnight blue, slowly turning bright as the sun came up. The water was still, and reflected the pretty lights from the shore.

The run felt relatively short compared to my previous 10ks in KL, and was over pretty quickly. I finished in 1:18. Slower than my KLIM 10k in March (1:12), but oh well. At least it's not my worst. So much for hoping to finish below 1:05. Sigh.

Crossed the finish line at the big USM field. Got my certificate. A pretty okay goodie bag (2 soft drinks, some vitamin samples, a bar of soap and a tube of analgesic cream. And walked another 5km back to my car. Gee. It's like doing a 20km man. Bwahahahaha!

After the run, I went back to the apartment for a nice shower while the rest were still asleep. Then D and I went out to Pulau Tikus to get breakfast. Which became brunch. We were stuck in traffic for an hour and a half (the roads around Penang were still closed for the run and caused a backlog in the backroads). Good thing the food in Pulau Tikus was worth the wait (yes, yes, foodie report to come soon).

So all in all, it was probably not the best run I've had, but I sure enjoyed this trip. Many thanks to Geekchic for having us. She was a lovely hostess, even as she hobbled along with a painful, red ass-cheek. Kekekeke. Now not only do I know where she lives, I also know where she works *evil laugh*. At least until this weekend anyway, when she leaves the island for good. Kam sia, Ah Geek!

Change of plans

There's gonna be a wedding on 1 July in Muar.
Fruit of Eden's cousin RK is getting married. I met her and her fiance TJ when I was in Muar for a short trip last year with Fruitie and YL. They were the most gracious hosts, great company and great foodies to boot! They said Muar weddings are different with interesting dishes like Rojak Chicken! What I'm also looking forward to is the ROAST PIG. Oh yummy!

So I'll be missing the Ipoh Run, but I'm going for the Penang Bridge Run the week before instead. Oh, that's this coming weekend!

Geek has volunteered her apartment, the sweetie, as her housemate will be away on holiday. Yay! But I sked... cos I know the Penang Bridge Run will cause quite a bad traffic jam in the already traffic-jammed island, most of which will be from the non-islanders like myself. Hehehe... and we know how the Geek hates traffic jams! I sked she sko me... ;-) I buy Big Mac for you okay? Since got no Burger King there.

The plan is, depart in the morning, pick up Mr.Geekchic on the way and off to Penang we go. Stuff our faces upon arrival. Check in at 'Casa Le Geeque'. Pick up my running bib number from Queensbay Mall. Stuff face some more. Bwahahaahaha! Sleep early. Then wake up real quiet in the morning (so as not to wake up other Casa Le Geeque inhabitants). Go for the run. Get back to the apartment (hopefully they're awake by then). Bathe. Eat BREAKFAST. Buy Ghee Hiang Tao Sar Piah. Then stuff face yet again before going home. Which reminds me, I have to find my missing Touch 'N' Go card. And my Penang Food guidebook (Star Publications) which I lent to my brother. I hope he still has it!

Other up and coming runs:

8 July - Siemens 10k Run. The usual Dataran Merdeka - Bukit Tunku - Jalan Duta - Jalan Parlimen - Dataran Merdeka route. You can register online too. Looks quite complicated but will check it out later. Beats driving to the OCM building in town to hand in the form and payment.

5 August - Adidas King of The Road. Right at my backyard in Sunway. The route is from Sunway Pyramid to the roundabout near my house, U-turn back to Sunway towards NPE and U turn again at the Old Town PJ junction back to Pyramid. Forms can be found at the Adidas shop and Studio R in Sunway Pyramid.

12 August - PJ Half Marathon. I was planning to go for the 10km run. But I wonder if I should be ambitious and attempt the 21km. Hmmm... I have until end of July to decide. Registration form in The Star paper yesterday.

9 Sept - Mizuna Wave 10km Run. New run. Hope to run under 1 hour for this race.

LY is joining me on some of the races. Yay!
YL? Anyone? How? Wanna join?

Ipoh 10k or Subang Jaya 10k?

I just found out that the Ipoh 10k run is happening on the same day as the Subang Jaya 10k run.

The former is at least 2 hours drive away.
The latter is right at my backyard.

Tough decision.

Of course, there are more pros ands cons to consider:

Ipoh:
Pros - A new route. Great food. Cleaner air. Great food. It'd be a fun weekend away. Great food. See Mandy. Great food. See my godparents. Ipoh white coffee. Ipoh Sar Hor Fun (rice noodle soup). Ipoh Chicken and Beansprouts. Chee Cheong Fun. Dim Sum. Menglembu Wantan mee. Silibin Siew Yoke. More great food. Did I say great food?
Cons - It's a 2-hour drive. RM70 on a full tank of petrol, to and fro. More money on toll. More money on the hotel room. And more money for the "feed wandernut fund".

Subang Jaya:
Pros - I live here.
Cons - I live here. :P

HOW!?

New Balance 15km Pacesetters Run 2007

I was preparing myself to fail terribly.
You see, weeks leading up to this, I hadn't been running regularly. Even if I did get to the gym, it'd be 25-30 minutes on the treadmill (40 minutes max) and that was it. Was feeling tired all the time, and energy levels were blehh!

Then I got busy at work, working late and weekends at one point, so that's zero run time. And after the busy stretch at work, I went to Bangkok for a holiday. I walked alot there, but walking doesn't really count, does it?

After I got back, I was feeling kinda sick, so my endeavours to hit the gym gave way to procrastination, and I only had my first decent run on Friday morning, followed by another yesterday afternoon.

But this morning, I was feeling pretty good. Must be the adrenaline. Woke up at 5.15am. Put on my vest. Pinned on my bib. And drove to Padang Merbok, half awake. Yay!

We started off at 7am sharp and the route was quite a killer. Lots of hills, big and small. Saved energy by walking up the hills and then sprinting downhill by letting gravity and momentum carry me. The flat stretches, I ran my normal pace. I was quite okay doing this for the first 10km, then my left foot started to hurt and throb. It was actually feeling tingly since my run yesterday so I guess the long distance impact made it even worse.

Last 3km was a walk run, walk run. And the final 1km, with Padang Merbok in sight, I ran with whatever I had left.

Surprisingly, my knees and ankles didn't give me problems this time. Cardio and breathing was quite alright. It was my dang left foot. The little bone below my left pinky toe to be more precise. It's still throbbing. I should go ice it soon.

My target was to finish in 2 hours.
I crossed the finish line in about 1:54 or 1:55.
Won't know for sure till the official results are posted on the Pacesetters website.

I seem to be finishing about 10 minutes slower compared to my race times in 2004 (when I last ran in races). Anyhow, I'm happy. This is just the second run of the year, with more to come. Woooo hooo!

I'm flat-footed?

I never knew.
So when I went to New Balance in One Utama to get my first pair of New Balance running shoes, I was quite surprised to find out.

Not just that.
My left foot is actually half a size smaller than my right!
Uh. Great.

The dude recommended a few pairs that would offer my feet better support. And after I told him I have wonky knees as well, he narrowed down the choice to one pair that offered gel cushioning on top of other things. Here's some product description I pulled off the net.

The WR846 WN is known for superior fit and performance with features such as ABZORB SBS, Transitional Support and N-LOCK.

ABZORB SBS (Heel)
Maximum shock absorption stability and durability

ABZORB FL (Midsole) & ABZORB (Forefoot)
Exceptional shock absorption

N-LOCK & STABILITY WEB
Superior support in midfoot while reducing overall weight

N-DURANCE (Outsole)
Rubber compound for maximum durability in high-wear areas

PHANTOM LINER
Reduces abrasion and discomfort

AIR MESH
Lightweight and breathable

MEDIAL POST
Higher density compression molded EVA for pronation control

BLOWN RUBBER OUTSOLE
Lightweight and cushioned

SAFETY REFLECTIVE DETAIL
For running in the dark.

Good thing to know the folks at New Balance are runners themselves and know what they're doing. Better than the blur salespeople at most sport shops who can't get your size right, let alone feet type.

OK, New Balance is not as trendy as your Nike or Adidas. But as far as I'm concerned, it's function over style, anytime. Of course, my Pacesetters member's discount (30%) is a big bonus. I paid RM202 for a RM289 shoe. Score!

Good Morning K.L.!

KL International Marathon 2007 (10km Race)

When I woke up at 5.30am this morning, I was so tempted to go back to bed. I didn't register in time last week, so I'd be running without a number anyway. What if they wouldn't let me run? YL and LS were giving the race a miss, so I'd be running alone as well. So boring. No after-run breakfast. Bleh...

Then the voice in my head practically screamed, "Enough excuses la! Loser. You've been psyching yourself up for this for months. Get up and go!"

So I did.
After parking my car at Padang Merbok, I walked towards Dataran Merdeka. There was a buzz of activity. Lights. People. Music. It was rather exciting and I felt so glad I came. I asked an official if it was okay to run without a number. He said I could, but I wouldn't be eligible for points and the goodie bag. Yeah, whatever. I could RUN! Woohoooo!

It was 6:45am and the 10km was about to start, when the first few marathon runners approached the Finish Line. WAH... the marathon (42.4km) started at 4.30am and they were finishing in less than 2.5 hours? O.M.G! They were Kenyans. Skinny, VERY FAST Kenyans. Running like it was just a brisk morning jog.

At 7am, we were flagged off. It started with a slight uphill towards the old train station. Hello old train station!

Then we turned into Jalan Istana.
Hello National Palace! Hello Dewan Bahasa Pustaka! Hello VI School! Hello Pudu Jail!

Then we ran straight up through Jalan Imbi, turning into Bintang Walk and then Jalan Sultan Ismail. Hello Hard Rock Cafe! Hello Sheraton Imperial!

And finally, we turned left into Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, which led us back to Dataran Merdeka for the finish. It's a less hilly route compared to the old Jalan Duta route, but it sure felt alot longer.

There were some elderly gentlemen I tried to pace with. But boy, they were fast. Sometimes I would overtake, only to find them in front of me a few minutes later. Shy. Towards the end, with 1km left to go, my ankle started to hurt. So I slowed down to a walk. Then I had to stop.

Suddenly a voice boomed behind me.
It was one of them old uncles.

"Girl! Don't stop! Keep going! Slow jog! But don't run too fast! Almost there! Go go go!"

I waved my thanks and pushed myself to the finish line.

After over 2 years of not running in a race, I was surprised I made it in pretty decent time. I was only hoping to finish within the qualifying time of 90 minutes, but managed 72 minutes! Yay! Not the best time ever, but way better than I expected.

As I'm typing I'm icing my ankle.
More torture in 2 weeks! Mount Kinabalu, yippeee! :)